It’s Friday, I’m out of gas, and the world of baseball news seemed to stop the moment Phil Hughes got sent to the DL. It happens. So before I seek out fermented beverages and switch between and among 15 baseball games this evening, I leave you with a link to a great story about Rickey…

I for one am shocked. If by “shocked” you mean “totally not shocked at all, not even in the slightest”: U.S. prosecutors Friday charged famed baseball outfielder Lenny Dykstra with bankruptcy fraud. According to a statement by prosecutors, Dykstra was taken into custody at his Encino home Thursday night. The charge relates to fraud Dykstra allegedly…

I went on Ted Berg’s Baseball Show over at SNY.TV this afternoon to help Ted scout the Braves in advance of the Mets-Braves series. I used the phrases “atrocious,” “terrible” and “sink hole” to describe the Braves’ play of late, so that was fun. I also made two pretty bad errors: 1. I called Fredi…

Earlier today I wondered what the Dodgers would do once the security theater on display at Dodger Stadium would run its course. Bill Shaikin reports that MLB is wondering too, and has sent a security task force to assess the situation. It’s a six-man crew led by MLB exec John McHale, Jr. They’ll be on-site all…

A lot of people have been asking in the comments recently about whether the somewhat inexplicable jury verdict against Barry Bonds will be overturned, vacated, appealed, whatever. I’m not a criminal procedure expert so the specific mechanics relating to a trial judge’s ability to set aside a jury verdict are a little amorphous to me,…

We mentioned the ugly civil suit between Brian Giles and his ex-girlfriend the other day. The one in which the girlfriend sought millions in a breach of contract claim from Giles, claiming that he promised to take care of her financially following their breakup. There were also competing claims of domestic violence, fraud and all…

Those of us who haven’t had mental illness touch our lives can’t really relate to it too well. I understand, intellectually, what clinical depression is, but I don’t understand it practically. And so when I hear things like “Justin Duchscherer suffers from clinical depression” — as I did in late 2009 — I didn’t really…

You knew this was coming, because it’s trotted out by someone whenever a big steroid user is in the news for something. This time it’s Paul Daugherty of SI regurgitating the semi-annual “Why should Pete Rose be punished more than steroids users” column. Which is fine as far as subject matter goes, because I think…

I told myself that I wasn’t going to get too upset about the Braves batting order because batting order doesn’t matter a great deal, but I’m only human, my biggest fanboy crush of a baseball player continues to be left on the basepaths because no one behind him can drive him in and, dammit, I’m…

April 15th is the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s Major League debut. Tons of players will wear #42 in his honor today (which I don’t much care for, but that’s another rant). That dude down at that university in Georgia or Florida or wherever will issue his annual report about minority participation in baseball (which I…

Yesterday word got around that Major League Baseball was going to expand replay. We should probably just say that they’re maybe leaning that way. Here’s the official word from MLB: To clarify, the Special Committee for On-Field Matters discusses many issues, but no decisions have been made regarding instant replay. Which makes sense. The Special…

I like Johnny Damon as a player. He’s had a nice career. He’s the archetypal Hall of Very Good guy. The HoVG’s Mt. Rushmore* could easily have him, Mark Grace, Jack Morris and, I dunno, Vada Pinson on it. But a Hall of Famer? Eh: It stinks that [3,000 hits] might be my only chance [at the…

Following the attack on Bryan Stow, it’s understandable that the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles would want to take visible measures to ratchet up safety. Emphasis on the visible, with police officers “on the streets leading up to the stadium and still more at the entrances to the parking lot, the stadium gates…

Sean McAdam of Comcast New England reports that the Red Sox have agreed to a seven-year, $154 million extension with Adrian Gonzalez. The team plans to announce the deal at press conference later today. This has been in the works for a long time. Many believe that it was agreed to in principle several months…

Today on And That Happened: Imagining what Ron Gardenhire would say if he were Ozzie Guillen, peeking in on Dustin Mosely’s budding singing career and another installment of “Find the Hunter S. Thompson Reference!”

UPDATE: The Phillies have issued a statement on behalf of Ryan Madson and his wife, arising out of that business in which the Naked Philadelphian blog reported Sarah Madson to have said “I hate fans” and complain about women coming up to Ryan Madson in public: Sarah did not consent to an interview, but rather…

When I woke up this morning I wouldn’t have guessed that the most sensible, spot-on analysis of the Barry Bonds case and legacy among the big national writers would come from Jon Heyman, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t: Scoundrels and cheats are already in. So are foul-tempered jerks. Bonds may be all three.…

I have no personal quarrel with ESPN’s Lester Munson. I don’t know his background or his specific area of expertise. I know that when he is asked to explain to lay people the general gist of any legal issue that touches sports he tends to do an OK job. He’s good at the “OK, what…

Good news for people who hate bad calls: Major League Baseball is leaning toward expanding replay for the 2012 season to include trapped balls and fair-or-foul rulings down the lines, a person familiar with the talks tells The Associated Press. Major League Baseball is leaning toward expanding replay for the 2012 season to include trapped…

Buster Posey was plunked twice yesterday and he wasn’t happy about it. Nor would I be, of course. It has to hurt. And if it’s not accidental it’s just lame. I hate plunkings and beanball wars. It’s dangerous stuff and, though it always has been and always will be part of baseball, I wish it…

Weird story involving former Royals pitcher Brian Bannister. Banny left the majors after last season and signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB. When the earthquake hit he, like a lot of gaijin left Japan to be with their families and get the hell out of the way of rescue and recovery…